My dogs are so good they can tell the difference between a HT and FT. I believe its because they know the sound of Bubba's beer can's being opened and the sound of me mixing ice in the fancy plastic margarita cups the rich chicks at FT's drink.

/Paul

05-08-2013, 05:31 PM

Howard N

Quote:

Howard, if you turned off your dogs' eyes and ears, and you drove to a Field Trial, do you think they'd know by smell?

Chris, I have never had a blind and deaf dog, I don't know what they'd sense.

But, assuming they weren't senile of something, they'd know from the unpaved bumpy road we were out somewhere where good things happened. They would smell all the trucks, dogs, birds, and lord know what all smells come from a group of trialers trucks, that we were someplace exciting. I don't know what they think of trials, or even if they think about trials. They'd still know that they were someplace exciting.

05-08-2013, 06:13 PM

Todd Caswell

My 13 year old hates going to the vet always has, It's a bit embarressing but I have to carry a 70 lb through the doors, she gets really nervous , trembles, shakes and I think half her hair falls out, that being said there are 4 ways to get there, it doesn't matter witch way I go and she's in her crate in the back seat ( where she can't see out) she will start this trembling within 200 yards of the building every time, I know she can sense and smell the place, so yes I believe a trial "smells" different than a normal training day

05-08-2013, 06:29 PM

FOM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjh345

Well I believe Milner and Chris are both correct, as well as you Howard:)

I agree with this too - I think its acombination of ALL the senses, they smell, they see, they hear...all of those combined together effect how our dogs behave. And because of they do use all their sense, it makes understanding what triggers a certain dog more difficult - for some smell has a greater impact, for others it body language, for others it's a sound, while some it's sight (try pulling a shotgun out for absolutely no reason at home and tell me dog's don't react). Aren't dogs fun?

05-08-2013, 06:30 PM

FOM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Todd Caswell

My 13 year old hates going to the vet always has, It's a bit embarressing but I have to carry a 70 lb through the doors, she gets really nervous , trembles, shakes and I think half her hair falls out, that being said there are 4 ways to get there, it doesn't matter witch way I go and she's in her crate in the back seat ( where she can't see out) she will start this trembling within 200 yards of the building every time, I know she can sense and smell the place, so yes I believe a trial "smells" different than a normal training day

Todd,

I have one that just knows "we are almost home" and will start "woofing" in the truck...it doesn't matter if we are going to my in-laws house, to the hotel after a trial, where ever home is, he knows it...

Chris,
To answer your question on scent, a dog that has been to a particular field trial ground before will certainly recognize it by scent upon returning. If it is a ground he has not previously visited then he will certainly recognize the soup of odors from multiple dog trucks etc. that are characteristic of a field trial. As an aside, odor is a primary facet by which he recognizes a particular person. If I sit a person's dog in the parking lot, put a sack of feed on the owner's shoulder to disguise his gait and walk that person by the dog on the upwind side, the dog will not recognize him. The dog will try to get up and move to the downwind side to smell who it is.

Search and rescue dogs regularly demonstrate some fairly complex odor arithmetic. At a certification test you might typically have an acre or so of concrete rubble with 5 or 6 people buried and waiting to be found. There will also be 10 or 15 people standing around close to or upon the rubble pile. The dog has to catalog the odors and only find the victims that are buried. They pretty much ignore all the visible people standing around. That is a fairly complex odor game.

05-08-2013, 07:20 PM

Scott Adams

I think a dog knows he's at a field trial long before they get there, once they have run a few. I think a blind, deaf and hard of smelling dog would know. Dogs are situational. They know when they are in a situation.

Hander Error, never apologize for a sense of humor. Especially a good one!

05-08-2013, 09:03 PM

Pat Puwal

I like the "scent of the field" concept and I think it has value. I also have to agree with Mr. Milner when he speaks about a dog becoming "electric collarwise". We had one that was super smart and became collarwise early on. One of of those pros who claims to be able to fix any dog had him for a year claiming that the dog was being re-programmed. When the dog was finally run by said pro in the Q, the dog acted the same as before. Perhaps the pro was nervous, and the dog smelled the trainer's fear or just picked up on his different movements or behavior. Either way, the dog certainly wasn't ever fixed or cured. I think the more you learn about dogs, perhaps the less you know in the end. They are never boring.

05-08-2013, 09:08 PM

Ted Shih

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howard N

Chris, I have never had a blind and deaf dog, I don't know what they'd sense.

But, assuming they weren't senile of something, they'd know from the unpaved bumpy road we were out somewhere where good things happened. They would smell all the trucks, dogs, birds, and lord know what all smells come from a group of trialers trucks, that we were someplace exciting. I don't know what they think of trials, or even if they think about trials. They'd still know that they were someplace exciting.

When I first went duck hunting, I would drive over to my buddy's house, and we would load up our dogs and gear in his truck. Then it was off to our leased property. There were some Rail Road tracks about a half mile from our blind. His dog, Boomer, a seasoned veteran, would sleep on the hour or so drive to our blind. But, once we crossed those tracks, she would start whining like a mad woman. She knew we were close to fun times.